Lingerie

The image is one of the most provocative in cinematic history: Elizabeth Taylor stretched catlike on a brass bed wearing nothing but a white slip and high heels. Taylor's wardrobe for the 1958 classic "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" might have been scandalous at the time, but it would feel right at home coming down the runway today. The creator of that slip was a Hollywood designer named Juel Park, who also produced Grace Kelly's trousseau and Mae West's underpinnings in "She Done Him Wrong," as well as exquisite hand-stitched lingerie for many of Hollywood's leading ladies, including Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner, Marlene Dietrich and Joan Crawford.

Taylor Swift: supermodel? Well, she definitely showed off those gams and singing chops during Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Alas, the country-pop crooner didn't don the brand's sultry signature lingerie for the annual décolletage display Wednesday. Instead, the 23-year-old Grammy-winner rocked out with a bevy of models for the lingerie brand's over-the-top presentation, arriving for the show in a floral-beaded mini-dress by Zuhair Murad. The singer kicked off her performance in a kitschy, Union Jack-inspired ensemble -- a mini-dress, complete with train, top hat and matching Union Jack gladiator heels -- for the show's British Invasion segment as she played along with the angels while they strutted their stuff and the brand's skimpy show-stopping confections.

An Orange County real estate consultant who stole $285,000 from Roman Catholic nuns and used it to buy lingerie and lease a sports car was convicted Tuesday of three counts of wire fraud. After a three-day trial, a federal jury in Santa Ana convicted Linda Rose Gagnon, also known as Linda Gualtieri-Gagnon, 59, of defrauding the U.S. Province of the Religious of Jesus and Mary. Asst. U.S. Atty. Robert Keenan said Gagnon told the nuns in 2008 that she was an expert in handling short-sale and foreclosure transactions and offered to help them buy a small home in San Diego they were renting for retired sisters in the religious order.

At back-to-back parties in Paris, Zahia Dehar had much to celebrate. The center of a scandal at age 17 - when a famous French soccer player paid the underage party girl for sex - Dehar has since been a model, front-row figure at haute couture shows and a protégé of fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, who reportedly nudged her onto her new career path of luxury lingerie designer. The first cocktail reception, held Wednesday, marked the premiere of Dehar's new ready-to-wear and haute couture lingerie lines.

"And in this corner, in the lace trunks . . ." Michael Bent had better get used to jibes such as that if he intends to continue in his current line of work. Bent, America's best amateur heavyweight boxer and winner of the gold medal in the recent Sports Festival at Baton Rouge, La., sells lingerie at a New York boutique. Honest. "A friend of mine who worked there talked me into coming down one day to keep him company," Bent, 19, told Newsday's Dave Rosner.

It's one of the strangest scenes in “Star Trek Into Darkness”: With no explanation or motivation, USS Enterprise visitor Carol (Alice Eve) strips down to her blue underwear, whereupon James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) sneaks a peek. Now, Damon Lindelof, who co-wrote the film's screenplay, is apologizing for the gratuitous sequence - sort of. In an email interview with MTV, Lindelof was asked why the “Men in Black III” actress was obligated to show off her ripped body. “Why is Alice Eve in her underwear, gratuitously and unnecessarily, without any real effort made as to why in God's name she would undress in that circumstance?

Dark-and-edgy teen retailer Hot Topic Inc. is putting its own spin on underwear. The City of Industry company is testing a new lingerie brand called Blackheart and launching five stores in the Southland and Texas this month dedicated to their undergarments. Billed for "girls who rock and roll," Blackheart is going for a slightly older crowd than Hot Topic's typical teen shopper, the 18-to-30-year-olds who care about sexy undies but reject more preppy outlets like Abercrombie & Fitch and J Crew.

An Orange County real estate consultant who stole $285,000 from Roman Catholic nuns and used it to buy lingerie and lease a sports car was convicted Tuesday of three counts of wire fraud. After a three-day trial, a federal jury in Santa Ana convicted Linda Rose Gagnon, also known as Linda Gualtieri-Gagnon, 59, of defrauding the U.S. Province of the Religious of Jesus and Mary. Asst. U.S. Atty. Robert Keenan said Gagnon told the nuns in 2008 that she was an expert in handling short-sale and foreclosure transactions and offered to help them buy a small home in San Diego they were renting for retired sisters in the religious order.

"Star Trek: Into Darkness" is taking some flak for a scene in which Alice Eve, playing Dr. Carol Marcus, strips down to panties and bra ... for no real reason. Screenwriter Damon Lindelof acknowledged via Twitter, "We should have done a better job of not being gratuitous in our representation of a barely clothed actress. " [Hollywood Life] Kellie Pickler and partner Derek Hough won season 16 of "Dancing With The Stars" on Tuesday night. Pickler got the mirror ball trophy. [Fox News]

At back-to-back parties in Paris, Zahia Dehar had much to celebrate. The center of a scandal at age 17 - when a famous French soccer player paid the underage party girl for sex - Dehar has since been a model, front-row figure at haute couture shows and a protégé of fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, who reportedly nudged her onto her new career path of luxury lingerie designer. The first cocktail reception, held Wednesday, marked the premiere of Dehar's new ready-to-wear and haute couture lingerie lines.

"Star Trek: Into Darkness" is taking some flak for a scene in which Alice Eve, playing Dr. Carol Marcus, strips down to panties and bra ... for no real reason. Screenwriter Damon Lindelof acknowledged via Twitter, "We should have done a better job of not being gratuitous in our representation of a barely clothed actress. " [Hollywood Life] Kellie Pickler and partner Derek Hough won season 16 of "Dancing With The Stars" on Tuesday night. Pickler got the mirror ball trophy. [Fox News]

It's one of the strangest scenes in “Star Trek Into Darkness”: With no explanation or motivation, USS Enterprise visitor Carol (Alice Eve) strips down to her blue underwear, whereupon James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) sneaks a peek. Now, Damon Lindelof, who co-wrote the film's screenplay, is apologizing for the gratuitous sequence - sort of. In an email interview with MTV, Lindelof was asked why the “Men in Black III” actress was obligated to show off her ripped body. “Why is Alice Eve in her underwear, gratuitously and unnecessarily, without any real effort made as to why in God's name she would undress in that circumstance?

If you're in the market for lingerie, you're in good company. The intimate apparel industry as a whole is on the rise, according to Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group. "Sales in the women's market started off slow in 2012 but started to gain momentum. All of a sudden, intimate apparel has become a very passionate category," Cohen says. "Women have gone so long without purchasing ... that it's time to update their wardrobes. " But selecting the right underpinnings can be a delicate matter.

A man in Iowa was arrested for breaking into a lingerie store after hours and stealing merchandise. The man was caught on video naked in the store. He tried on various items of clothing for two hours before leaving the store in a blond wig and a dress. Police were able to find the suspect by spotting a tattoo of the thief's name across his naked back on the surveillance video. [ Daily Mail ] If you want to get your hands on a pair of "Project Runway" star Heidi Klum's signature sneakers for New Balance you'll have to get to your nearest Lady Foot Locker.

December 12, 2010 | By Julie Neigher, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Somehow the holiday season brings out the urge to get cozy. Maybe that's why nightwear is a perennial favorite gift this time of year. Or maybe it's because it lends itself to stress-free shopping. After all, how many times can you give your brother-in-law a "make your own beer kit" or your mom an electric cheese grater? But almost everyone (except the most die-hard of nudists) seems to appreciate the versatility and comfort of jammies. Choices are plentiful. How about a limited-edition designer chemise from La Perla?

"What do women want?" It is a question posed by a series of national lingerie ads, and, as Valentine's Day approaches, it is one that husbands and boyfriends are more likely to ask as well. Buy something sexy or play it subtle? Some men may wonder, but fewer than you might expect. "At our stores, three-quarters of the men know exactly what they're looking for," says Laura Holbrook, a spokeswoman for Victoria's Secret, the lingerie chain store that launched the ad with the leading question.

The favorite football league of many desperate and lonely men is no more. The Lingerie Football League has announced plans to rename itself the Legends Football League and said it will no longer have its players compete while wearing lingerie. "This is the next step in the maturation of our now global sport. While the Lingerie Football League name has drawn great media attention allowing us to showcase the sport to millions, we have now reached a crossroad of gaining credibility as a sport or continuing to be viewed as a gimmick," said Mitchell S. Mortaza, the founder of the league.

Dark-and-edgy teen retailer Hot Topic Inc. is putting its own spin on underwear. The City of Industry company is testing a new lingerie brand called Blackheart and launching five stores in the Southland and Texas this month dedicated to their undergarments. Billed for "girls who rock and roll," Blackheart is going for a slightly older crowd than Hot Topic's typical teen shopper, the 18-to-30-year-olds who care about sexy undies but reject more preppy outlets like Abercrombie & Fitch and J Crew.